Chuck Yeager sues airline for unauthorized use of his name

[mustangdriver]

I know Yeager is not liked here but come on! This is a business looking to make a profit. They decided to appeal to people by using Yeager's name in their add without asking him. The fact that he was in the USAF matters how? Did they advertise USAF Col. Chuck Yeager? No. Just Chuck Yeager. I know from working for upper deck in the late 90s that if this was a sports star, this would be a huge deal. I know that you guys like bashing your favorite subjects, but what's right is right.

[k5083]

Just a further comment to my previous post.

The "right of publicity" has seen a good deal of expansion. CY has the good sense to sue in California -- can you imagine a place where there is more interest in protecting celebrities' rights of publicity? -- where the law is especially favorable.

Rebecca, being a law school professor, can opine that the expansion of right of publicity law that permits cases like this is a "terrible, terrible thing." (See the second link in my post above.) As a practitioner, I relate to the law in roughly the way a professional pilot relates to gravity; I have to deal with it, and it doesn't much matter whether I approve of it.

August

[Randy Haskin]

WIX should be sued for use of Yeager's name in this thread without his permission.

[flyboyj]

WIX should be sued for use of Yeager's name in this thread without his permission.

Better watch out, he might be lurking out there!

I have the utmost respect for his accomplishments and career, but he less than a "people person." (Politically correct for saying he's a butthole) I got a chance to meet him a few times. After his wife died it seemed like he was hell on wheels, seemed to have mellowed after that but hear he still as a "streak." I guess the lawsuits proves my points.

[tom d. friedman]

randy makes a valid point. there is a national editorial newspaper columnist with my name, sans my middle name, can i sue him because his mommy named him what my identity is?? can he sue me because i've written a few magazine articles with his namesake?? i can't help it he has my name, nor vice /versa!! the greed line has more than been crossed in the name of the law!! god help all the joe smith lawyers, authors, movie stars etc who have different interests, feathers in their caps, etc. maybe i should change my last name to lippsh!tz to cma!!

[brucev]

WIX should be sued for use of Yeager's name in this thread without his permission.

and how is WIX generating profit through the use of his name in this thread?

( i know you're not serious, just stating that i think its not apples to apples as a comparison)

[warbird1]

The fact that he was in the USAF matters how? Did they advertise USAF Col. Chuck Yeager? No. Just Chuck Yeager.

Wow, you better watch out Chris, Yeager might sue you for demoting him to Col. and defaming his character. He's actually a General!

[Stoney]

Is it true that he ground looped someone elses T-6 and just walked away?

[mlenoch]

No, he did not "just walk away"......he sued the owners for letting him fly their T-6.
VL

[Jack Cook]

Actually he destroyed it. Landed with the wind and went off the side off the runway and
down a embankment into big rocks!! I feel bad for the Bowlins!!

[warbird_patrick]

I'm surprised he is not going after people selling reproduction pictures of him on Ebay with out his permission and cut. I have met him a couple of times in the Air show performers tent in Oshkosh, it has been a few years, but he was always moody to the children who tried to talk to him.

Patrick

[Jase]

If by "moody" to kids, you mean downright ugly and profane, I agree. Chuck is a piece of work.

And yea, he did sue the Bowlins. He's lucky he didn't kill himself or the (much younger) female passenger he was trying to impress.

[warbird1]

If by "moody" to kids, you mean downright ugly and profane, I agree. Chuck is a piece of work.

And yea, he did sue the Bowlins. He's lucky he didn't kill himself or the (much younger) female passenger he was trying to impress.

Who won that lawsuit of Bowlin vs.Yeager? Also, was the female passenger anybody famous or anyone we might know? Was it his current wife - the one who is something like 40 years younger than him?

Also, has Yeager flown any warbirds (T-6 or faster) since he wrecked the Bowlins' T-6?

[Fouga23]

I knew he crashed a T-6, but didn't know he sued the owners On what grounds?

[mustangdriver]

And as usual none of this has anything to do with a current case except for one of the great past times here of bashing some of the favorites, (change out yeager for NMUSAF or any of the other favorites they are all interchangable here).
The point is a business is using his name as way to drawl business. At the very least they should have asked first. I don't doubt what you guys say, but just because some don't like him doesn't mean that he is wrong in this case, nor can we take away his accomplishments.
The Sound Barrier, I will try and spell it out nice and slow once again. Everyone who hated Chuck loves to try to bring up George Welch. The problem with that is what is good for one is good for all. The Bell X-1 was ready for a run at the sound barrier for months, but NACA said "Without the measuring equipment, no one can say the broke the soundbarrier". That was the NACA rule. So the X-1 project was delayed until NACA decided to bring the equipment over so that the USAF could use it. Yeager flew the X-1 through soundbarrier after one pilot dies, and another tried to rape the USAF. Say what you want, strapping on the X-1 with just a leather football hemet takes a pair. But NACA set the standard that said we are the only ones that can measure when a plane breaks the soundbarrier. Everyone knew it. So if you wanted to take a plane up with out the NACA gear and break the soundbarrier with some guys at the base who swear they head a bang, fine(I know people that have been at airshows that have seen a .9 mach pass and swear to this day it was the soundbarrier.) but to then try and claim that you did it first and can't figure out why you get no credit for it is just stupid. It is also silly to argue about it 60 years later and try and change history because you like one guy over another.